WELCOME TO THE HOME OF THE LAST MARATHON CHALLENGE

17th March 2013
Mount Avoca Winery, Avoca Victoria

Great weekend was spent up at Mt Avoca Winery for the LAST Marathon Challenge - and the 4.5-ish Enduro. Both Peter Kutschera and Naomi Hasen broke the course records for the 90k Men and Womens - full results can be found on our results page

This is Australia's toughest mountain bike marathon.
But unquestionably Australia's most rewarding.

This is the 4th year of the notorious marathon on at Mt Avoca - riders who want a challenge keep coming back for more because although it is a challenge they are rewarded with the amazing scenery, beautiful event village (at the winery) and fantastic supporting volunteers.

Yes - it is Australia's toughest mountain bike marathon - but it is one of the most supported races you'll ever experience - the course is fully stocked with feed zones (5 on the 90k course!) and 14 Marshal points.

This event is what Big Hill Events is all about - giving back to the riders, we work on this trail year round to make sure riders are happy.

The 2013 Marathon Challenge will still be run to the high quality of every other year it has operated - including fully stocked Degani and Endura Feed Zones!
If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

8th March - Radio Interview with Rohin Adams

On Friday the 8th February Rohin went live on the Radio (Voice FM) to discuss the Marathon Challenge with Allan Steinman. Here's a short transcript of the interview:

"So Rohin you've been working on this trail for a number of years now"
RA:"Yes, having grown up in the area and become an elite rider I started using the course as home-turf training ground since I was about 18 and then have been working with DSE for 5 years working on the 20k singletrack section which is almost complete"

"Tell us about the Marathon Challenge event?"
RA:"So the course options are 90k or 45k, and riders are fully supported on the ride – multiple marshal points and 5 feed zones with bakery goods and endurance products for riders. Also as part of this year we're running a side event for riders not quite up for the longer distances; the 4.5ish Enduro where riders can enter solo or pairs doing laps of a 7k course."

"You've announced that this will be the last year of the Marathon Challenge, what's that about and what does the future hold?"
RA: "Yes, look, unfortunately it seems the Australian riders have found it maybe a bit too much of a challenge, or a clash with other events. Either way, it's been difficult to run an event at a loss and it came to the difficult decision to not being able to run the event. But that doesn't mean we're running away from the work we've put into the area. We are now focusing on our trail running event Run From The Hills which we put on last November; we bus runners up into the heart of the Pyrenees forest and then the runners make their way through the trails we've built and back down to the Mt Avoca Winery. As part of that event we also put on a kids 2k race to make sure the whole family are involved."

"And where can people enter and how much does it cost?"
RA: "If people head to www.BigHillEvents.com.au they will be able to find all the details there, the costs are $105 for the 90k and $75 for the 45k. For the Enduro it's $50 single entry or $40 each for pairs entry" – Entry for both events can be made directly through www.entryzone.com.au

"It should be a great weekend away with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in town on the Saturday?"
RA: "Yes the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival will be on at the river side in Avoca town, showcasing 19 Pyrenees wineries, that all happens on the Saturday and then the race is on the Sunday. There are some great accommodation options in the area so it's a good weekend for all the family to get involved with.